Gennum Advances 10G EPON Technology for FTTx Deployments

Integrated Chipset Enables Rapid Development of Optical Network Equipment

BURLINGTON, Ontario – October 26, 2010 – Gennum Corporation (TSX: GND), a leading supplier of high-speed optical, analog and mixed-signal semiconductor solutions, has extended its portfolio of 10G EPON (Ethernet Passive Optical Network) offerings aimed at equipment serving FTTx installations. Combining a 10G transceiver chip with a low-power transimpedance amplifier (TIA), Gennum’s 10G EPON chipset provides optical network unit/optical network terminal (ONU/ONT) equipment manufacturers the first highly integrated and cost-efficient solution to ensure optimal 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps) performance.

“The industry’s migration to the 10G PON standard brings a host of technical challenges, including the ability to handle the asynchronous and synchronous nature of the data streams at these high speeds,” said Gary Beauchamp, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Optical Products at Gennum.  “Our continued focus on complex, high-speed technologies has enabled Gennum to deliver a market-enabling 10G PON solution that not only meets, but exceeds the ITU and IEEE specifications. With both low-power and high-sensitivity performance, our 10 Gbps TIA and transceiver chip combine to provide the industry’s first solution that can deliver the performance headroom customers require to ensure their equipment successfully manages the stress factors of a 10G EPON network.”

Gennum’s 10G EPON transceiver chip, comprised of a limiting amplifier, burst-mode laser driver and clock and data recovery (CDR), now combines with Gennum’s 10G EPON TIA to enable a next-generation module solution. The integrated solution greatly simplifies transceiver module development and significantly reduces time to market.

10G EPON Networks Deliver Higher Bandwidth, Enable HD IPTV, VoD and VoIP

EPON is a technology providing broadband services over fiber optic cables, with the newest standard allowing for bandwidth at up to 10 Gbps.

“The EPON market remains strong in Asia, with a clear upgrade path to 10G,” said Vladimir Kozlov, founder and CEO of market analyst firm Light Counting. “In the United States, while we see telcos firmly backing GPON, cable operators continue to show interest in EPON, with media companies such as Time Warner and Comcast participating in testing phases and evaluating 10G EPON. As a result, we expect 10 percent growth for EPON transceiver sales in 2010 and shipments reaching 10 million units by 2014.”

Driving the migration to 10G EPON in FTTx are densely populated residences that demand bandwidth-intensive triple-play applications and services such as HD IPTV, VoD, VoIP, and peer-to-peer networking. A point-to-multipoint architecture, a 10G EPON network distributes broadband data and services from the service provider to the consumer. As a result, 10G EPON networks must support two configurations: symmetric, operating at 10 Gbps data rates in both upstream and downstream directions, and asymmetric, operating at 10 Gbps in the downstream direction and 1 Gbps in the upstream direction. Meeting these critical performance metrics, Gennum’s 10G EPON chipset is aimed at optical modules that are used in ONUs found “downstream” at the consumer site.

“We are seeing an escalated demand for 10G PON equipment and, as a result, our ability to rapidly ramp from prototype to production of ONU equipment delivering this higher bandwidth is critical,” said Sheng Zhang, Executive Director of Transceiver, of Source Photonics.  "Gennum has a proven 10G EPON offering with its transceiver solution and, with the addition of its 10 Gbps TIA, we are confident in Gennum’s ability to deliver an integrated, high quality solution that meets the performance metrics, while still meeting our stringent design schedule.”‪

Gennum’s new silicon germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS TIA product meets the IEEE 802.3av and ITU G.987.2 standards for 10G PON. Operating at 10 Gbps, the GN7068 TIA is optimized for use with APDs (avalanche photodiodes) featuring very low power consumption and high sensitivity to provide excellent receiver margin in optical modules.

The TIA is combined with Gennum’s GN7355, a second-generation, single-chip transceiver solution that features a burst-mode, direct-modulation laser driver, a limiting amplifier and a CDR all on a single die. The GN7355 is designed to enhance robustness of 10G EPON links by eliminating the excessive channel noise that is present in PON systems.

Through re-timing the high-speed signal, the CDR within the GN7355 ensures high link margin and low jitter signal. This also simplifies the module design, and enables interoperability with different MAC (Media Access Control) vendors. Gennum's long-standing leadership in CDR technology allows for easy integration of this functionality into the chip, while still meeting the cost structure and low power consumption that PON systems demand.

Availability

The GN7068 TIA and GN7355 transceiver chips are sampling now, with the TIA available in bare-die format and the transceiver chip available in a 5x5mm QFN package.

About Gennum

Gennum Corporation (TSX: GND) designs innovative semiconductor solutions and intellectual property (IP) cores to serve the rising global demand for high-speed data transmission products in the broadcast, networking, storage and telecommunications markets.  Gennum offers proven optical, analog and mixed-signal solutions with uncompromising signal integrity to support standards such as high-definition (HD) video, Fibre Channel, InfiniBand®, Ethernet, SONET and PCI Express®.  The company is headquartered in Burlington, Canada, and has global design, research and development and sales offices in Canada, Mexico, Japan, Germany, United States, India and the United Kingdom. www.gennum.com